


Fresh Blood

by thankyouturtle



Category: Chalet School - Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
Genre: Gen, Horror, Parody
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-24
Updated: 2010-09-24
Packaged: 2017-10-12 04:16:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/120665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thankyouturtle/pseuds/thankyouturtle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The New Girl can't help but find the Chalet School horribly dull, but perhaps a trip to see the Authoress next door will help to change her mind...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fresh Blood

The New Girl had a difficult time adjusting to the Chalet School, at first. Speaking in French and German, that was hard. She'd learned them both at her previous school, but she was not what you would call fluent, in either. And then, there was boarding - she was used to being at a day school, sleeping in until the last minute and racing out the door with a piece of toast and her long hair still ruffled from the night before. That wasn't allowed here.

But then there were the girls themselves - they were so different from the girls at her old school. They were nice, and very friendly, and threw themselves into Games and classes with a passion, but they all seemed a little - well, dull. They all obeyed the teachers, they seldom broke the rules, they were thoughtful and considerate of each other and so far none of them had had what might even slightly be described as a "tiff". It was nice, it was. Just different. The New Girl knew it was going to be some time before she got used to it, that was all.

The dullness hit her harder than homesickness. Everything was timetabled. From the moment the first bell rang in the morning there was a place she was meant to be, an activity she was meant to be doing. The only time she had to herself was at night, when she was alone in her bed, and most of the time she was so tired she barely had a chance to think a cohesive thought before she fell asleep. When she broached the subject with her Sheepdog, the reaction was mild surprise. Why did she need time to herself? It wasn't as though they weren't left alone in the Common Room, at times. Surely she didn't mind everything happening at the same time every day. Order was good for young people. Yes, they got to leave school some times, of course. There were the afternoon walks - with a prefect, of course - and the half term trips, with a mistress.

It was funny, them always being watched over, the New Girl thought to herself. She couldn't imagine any of the girls breaking out if they were left by themselves. As for herself - if the Head Girl asked her one more time how she was enjoying school, she might scream. School was school, and school was dull.

She was relieved when an invitation came to meet the Authoress next door. She'd heard about the Authoress many times from the others already, one of the many topics deemed suitable to talk about - politics, boys and movie stars apparently far too interesting to be OK. And even if the Authoress was just as dull as everyone else on this mountain - well, it would still be a break from the everloving routine of bells and eating and studying and walking.

The Authoress greeted her with a smile that was just as friendly and dull as everyone else's. She was tall and pale, her black eyes and hair a stark contrast to her skin. She sounded almost unearthly when she spoke, in a strange, Golden Voice, and the New Girl felt suddenly uncomfortable. She put on a decent spread, though - scones and sandwiches and pastries filled with cream, and as much tea as she could drink without feeling like a stuffed chicken herself. And she asked with interest about the New Girl's family, something no one else had done. She nodded her head sympathetically when it all came tumbling out - how her father had died, and her mother and brother were everything to each other, and she was left on the outside. How she felt like she was being abandoned, sent away to boarding school, and how she was sure no one was even missing her.

She felt herself warming to the Authoress. She admitted she hadn't actually read any of her books, but the Authoress laughed and told the New Girl that there'd be plenty of time to read them. The New Girl, thinking of how much time she had to herself, wasn't sure about that. She asked the Authoress if she'd really had such a long family - it was difficult to believe she was much older than schoolgirl herself.

The Authoress smiled, again. She was almost fifty, she told the New Girl. But she expected to live a lot longer than that - a lot longer. She reached out and gripped the New Girl's arm, so tightly that the New Girls wanted to cry out, but she couldn't. There was something about the Authoress' Golden Voice that soothed her, something about her deep black eyes that caught her own and held her. Even when the Authoress' smile grew wider, and two long, sharp, fangs slid down her bottom lip, and she moved the New Girl closer, leaning in towards her neck...

The New Girl was a little paler when she returned to the school. Her Sheepdog asked her, pleasantly, if she'd had a nice time. Yes, the New Girl told her automatically. Lovely. And though her head felt a little muzzy, she found herself looking forward with interest to the next day. How could she possibly have thought the Chalet School was dull? It was nice. She loved it here.


End file.
